Device for indicating swing characteristics of a golf putter



1966 E. R. ABRAMS ETAL 3 DEVICE FOR INDICATING SWING CHARACTERISTICS OF A GOLF PUTTER 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed July 30, 1963 I N VEN TOR3 301M A b -u EM cuMQ De m ATTORNEYS 1965 E. R. ABRAMS ETAL 3,

DEVICE FOR INDICATING SWING CHARACTERISTICS OF A GOLF PUTTER Filed July 50, 1963 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 52 NJ I l INVENTORS 6M saw.

BY 5M Ma MW ATTORNEYS United States Patent 3,232,623 DEVICE FOR INDICATING SWING CHARACTER- ISTICS 0F A GOLF PUTTER Edwin R. Abrams, 15 Stimson Road, and Samuel A. Stone, 25 Mumford Road, both of New Haven, Conn. Filed July 30, 1963, Ser. No. 298,768 1 Claim. (Cl. 273186) As golfers will readily agree, golf matches are quite often won or lost on the putting green-s. One of the best ways to improve ones golf game, is to improve the short game and, particularly, ones putting. Improved putting can out many strokes from ones game and improved putting, undoubtedly, has a great deal more effect on ones score than would improvement in fairway or tee shots, although all are desirable. Good putters spend many hours practicing on the putting green to sharpen their putting accuracy. Perhaps one of the biggest faults in putting is incorrect or improper swing which causes the ball todeviate from its planned path. The ideal swing in putting has become known as the pendulum swing where the putter swings in the arc of a pendulum which projects a straight line on the ground. A perfect pendulum swing assures that the ball will be hit along the line sighted by the golfer in aiming the putt.

' Unfortunately, the avid golfer cannot practice and play as often as he would like. This is particularly true during inclement Weather and the winter months when lay-offs cause ones game to become rusty. Since the greatest degree of accuracy is required in putting, it is the putting part of ones game that is injured most 'by lay-offs. There are, of course, many devices on the market to aid in practicing putting in ones livingr'oom, but since these devices simulate putting at a hole, they do no more to improve ones swing than does practice on the putting green. Hours and hours of practice on both the putting green and at home will not have beneficial results if the swing is incorrect.

Accordingly, it is an object of this invention to provide a practice device for improving ones putting swing.

' Another object of the invention is to provide a device 'which will indicate to the golfer when he is swinging his putter incorrectly.

A further object of the invention is to provide a device which will signal the golfer when the arc of his swing is other than in the desired pendulum.

' Still other objects and advantages of the invention will in part be obvious and will in part be apparent from the specification.

Generally speaking, in accordance with the invention,

,a device is provided which will attach to the golfers putter to control the device in response to movement of the putter. When practicing putting, the device will audibly or visibly indicate to the golfer if the putting 3,232,623 Patented Feb. 1, 1966 ice FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the device of the invention attached to the shaft of a golf club;

FIG. 2 is a sectional View, in elevation, of the control box portion of the invention taken along line 2-2 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along line 3-3 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a partial sectional view taken along line 44 of FIG. 1; and

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram of the electrical circuit embodied in the control box.

Referring now to FIG. 1, a typical putter 11 is shown having a shaft 12, a handle 13 and a blade 14. Since putters are quite personal to the golfer, it is contemplated that the golfer will utilize his own putter in conjunction with the device to be hereafter described. A rod 15 extends between the putter and the device, the rod being remova'bly attached to the putter by means more clearly shown in FIG. 4.

As shown in FIG. 4, rod 15 and shaft 12 are connected in such a manner that they lie in substantially the same plane. A plate 16 having a yoke 17 on one end thereof is pivoted to rod 15 by means of a pin 18 passing through the rod and the yoke. In this manner, rod 15 can pivot with respect to plate 16 in one plane only but is fixed with relation to the plate in other planes. A projection 19 may extend from plate 16 and have pivoted at the outer end thereof an arm 21 which is co-extensive with the end of plate 16 opposite yoke 17. A bolt 22 having a thumb nut 23 secured to one end passes through the outer end of plate 16 and is threadedly engaged in arm 21. In this manner, the shaft of the putter may pass through the space between plate 16 and arm 21 and tightening of thumb nut 23 rigidly secures the putter shaft to the connecting element. As shown, plate 16 and arm 21 may define V-shaped grooves for receiving the putter shaft. Referring again to FIG. 1, with the putter in the upright or putting position, it will be seen that rod 15 can move with relation to the putter only in a vertical plane. Movement of the putter in any other direction will necessarily cause the rod and putter to move together.

Referring now to FIGS. 2 and 3, rod 15 engages a guide 24 which supports the rod and responds to the movement thereof. The upper part of guide 24 is the shape of a yoke and is provided with two upstanding legs, 25 and 26. Forward leg 25 is provided with a vertically extending slot 27 whose Width is approximately equal to the diameter of the rod. Rear leg 26- is provided with an aperture 28 whose diameter is substantially equal to the diameter of rod 15. Aperture 28 is in approximate horizontal alignment with the lowermost portion of slot 27. Aperture 28 is slightly elongated in the vertical direction so that rod 15 may freely move in the vertical plane such as to the position shown in phantom in FIG. 2, without binding on the wall-s o-f aperture 28.

The main operational elements of the device are carried by and enclosed in a housing 31 to which guide 24 is rotatably mounted. Guide 24 is provided with a downwardly extending shaft portion 32 which freely passes through housing 31 and which is received in the inner race of a ball bearing 33. The outer race of the bearing is received in the housingand is secured thereto by any in the housing permits the guide to freely rotate with respect to the housing in the horizontal plane.

Referring again to FIG. 1, it will now be see-n that with the housing resting on the golfers livingroom carpet, for example, the golfer can freely swing the putter along the line indicated by arrow 35 and through the arc indicated by arrow 36 without alfecting the position of guide 24.. Thus, if the swing is correct, guide 24 will not move while the golfer is putting. However, if the golfer fails to maintain the putter in the proper pendulum plane, but moves the putter out of position in the directions indicated by arrow 37, guide 24 will respond to such movement by rotating with respect to the housing through bearing-33. When this'incorrect motion of the swing occurs, means are provided to alert the golfer to his error. Such means will now be described.

Referring again to FIGS. 2 and 3, shaft 32 extends downwardly within the housing. and defines an end'portio-n 38 which may have a cross section of approximately one-quarter circle. Mounted to end portion 38 is a pair of contacts 41 and 42 which are electrically interconnected and which extend at right anglesto one another. End'portion 38 and shaft'32 may. either consist of elec trically conductive material to electrically connect contacts 41 and 42' with bearing 33, or, if the shaft and end portion are fabricated from an insulating material, a strap 43 may be provided to electrically connect the contacts to the bearing.

A first adjustable contact 44 is mounted to the housing opposite contact 41, thereby forming aswitch. The adjustable contact 44 may comprise a metallic plate 45 threadedly engaged by a screw 46 which may be adjusted toward and fromcontact 41 by means of a knob 47 carrying the screw 46 outside of the housing for easy accessibility and adjustment. A second adjustable contact 48 identical in structure to adjustable contact 44 is carried by the housing atrignt angles to contact 44. Adjustable contact 48 includes a screw 49' disposed opposite contact 42 and also includes a knob 51 for adjustment of the position of screw 49'.

In the preferred embodiment of the invention, two buzzers or bells, 52 and 53, are mounted within the housing for audibly signaling to the golfer when an error in swing has been made. Preferably, the buzzers or bells are of different pitch so that the: golfer can readily determine whether the error occurred by moving the putter closer to his body or away from his body. While the preferred embodiment of the invention utilizes buzzers or bells, or a combination thereof for audibly signaling the golfer when an error has occurred,"it will be readily understood that any other sensible means, such as visually identifiable lights of different colors or brightness may be used. A self-contained battery 54 is mounted within the housing to supply the power for operating the buzzers or bells. The battery is preferably mounted so that it may be readily removed and replaced when it becomes discharged after extensive use.

The wiring of the signaling device has been omitted from FIGS. 2 and 3 for the sake of clarity and is schematically shown in FIG. where the contacts and other elements are indicated by numerals identical to those used in connection with FIGS. 2 and 3. An arrow 55 indicates the possible direction of movement of shaft 32 and end portion 38"when the golfer moves the putter through an' arc which deviates from the proper arc. Since contacts 41 and 42 are fast to end portion 38, they will move therewith. If the shaft 32 moves in a clockwise direction, as shown in FIG. 5, contact 41 will engage screw 46, thereby closing the series circuit through battery 54 and bell 52 to operate the bell and audibly signal the golfer. The circuit connection from the contacts 41 and 42 directly to the battery is preferably made by connecting the line from the battery to the outer race of bearing 33 and having the circuit completed through 4. the bearing balls inner race, and strap 43 to the contacts. In this way, the line need notmove with-shaft- 32 thereby reducing the likelihood of line breakage due to flexing. On the other hand, if shaft 32 moves in a counterclockwise direction, contact 42 will engage screw 49 to close the series circuit through battery 54 and bell 53 again to audibly indicate to the golfer that an error in the swing has occurred. Of course, when one of contacts 41 or 42 move closer to one of screws 46 or 49, the other contact moves further from the other screw so that only one bell or buzzer will operateat any particular instant of time. As indicated before, if the bells or buzzers are of different pitch or if differently colored lights are used, the golfer can, with a little experience, immediately tell in which direction the error in'swing has occurred. Again, it is emphasized that the correct straight line or pendulum swing will have no effect on shaft 32. Thus, if the swing is correct, no signal will result.

The sensitivity of the device may be adjusted through knobs-47 and 51. In other words, the golfer can control the amount of allowable deviation in his swing before the device'will signal an error. This is effected by individually adjusting screws 46 and 49 through their respective knobs toward or from their respective contacts to'vary the amount that the contacts must move with shaft 32 before a-circuitwill be completed.

When practicing to groove ones swing or for storing or settingup the device, it may be desirable to-lock the device to make the guide immovable or to prevent inadvertent'operation of the signals. This may be accomplished'by means of an aperture 56 in end portion 38 with a mating shaft 57 slidably mounted in the housing. Shaft 57 may be provided with a knob 58 at the outer end thereof so that the position of the shaft may be manually adjusted. When the device is to be locked, the operator merely moves shaft 57 into aperture 56 through knob 58, thereby preventing rotation of shaft 32 and the end portion thereof carrying the contacts. By pulling shaft 57 out of the aperture by means of knob 58, the device is released for operation. With the guide locked, the golfer may-practice grooving his swing andmay'get the feel of the grooved-swing with the guide locked. Then it may bereleased for practicing his putting.

The above described device can be used to practice ones putting swing and it has the advantage of advising the golfer when his swing is improper. Devices that merely simulate the golf cup so that the golfer can putt the ball into the cup, are deficient in thatthey' do not tell the golferwhy' he may be missing the cup. The present device helps the golfer groove his swing and may be used in conjunction with devices that simulate the golf cup. This device has the particular advantage of being very light and the proper mounting of rod 15 and the bearing mountin of guide 24' assure that the golfer will not behindered or distracted by the device.

It will thus be seen that'the objects set forth above, among those made apparent from thepreceding description, are efficiently attained and, since certain changes may be made in the above construction without departing from the spirit and scope of the'invention, it is intended that all matter contained in the above description or shown in the accompanying drawings shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

It is also understood that the following claim is intended to cover all of the generic and specific features of the invention herein described, and all statements of the scope of the invention which, as a matter of language, might be said to fall therebetween.

What is claimed is:

A practice device for golfers for use with a putter, comprising a control rod, means for securing said control rod at one end thereof to a shaft of a putter, guide means -or supporting and guiding said control-rod intermediate its ends, a housing, means mounting said guide means on said housing for free rotation in a horizontal plane, signal means within said housing and operative in response to arcuate movement of said guide means to signal the golfer when the putter deviates from its desired path during the swing thereof, said guide means comprising a central shaft rotatably supported in said housing, and a yoke having spaced upstanding legs, one of said legs being provided with an elongated slot whose width is substantially the Width of said control rod and Whose length in the vertical direction extends substantially the length of said leg, the other leg being provided With a substantially oval aperture whose minor diameter is substantially the same as the diameter of said control rod, said control rod being freely received in the apertures of said yoke.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS Johnson 273186 Newman et a1. 273183 X Chizewski 273-192 Fortin 2'73183 X Self 273-186 Heard 273-186 X Bell 273-486 DELBERT B. LOWE, Primary Examiner.

G I. MARLO, Assistant Examiner. 

